Sliding door



J. J. BLACK SLIDING DOOR Sept. 28, 1943.

Original Filed May 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J INVENTOR J. J. BLACK SLIDING DOOR Sept. 28, 1943.

Original Filed May 5, 194; 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEK WM /?/W Y 6% A TTORNEY! Patented Sept. 28, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'SLIDING DOOR Delaware Original application May 5, 1941, Serial No.

Divided and this application October 13, 1942, Serial No. 461,869

3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to roll-up doors and is particularly directed to animproved roll-up door of the type utilized at the back of freight-carrying vehicles, such as trucks or trailers.

These doors, although flexible for rolling, necessarily have to be rigid enough to withstand the twisting and strains that come from the swaying of the body of the truck. In the past, hinged sections of ribbed or corrugated sheet metal have been tried for the doors. Corrugated metal proved to be fairly rigid, but it provided a number of depressions and corners on the inside of the door which caught under boxes of freight and jammed the door.

It has been an object ofthe present invention to provide a new and improved roll type of door, which door is substantially flat on the inside so that there are no irregularities which may engage the articles in the load and thereby jam the door.

Another object has been to provide a new and novel construction for doors of this type which includes hinged panels possessing greater rigidity than those of the past.

This application is divisional of the original application of James J. Black for Door for freight carrying vehicle, Serial No. 391,867, filed May 5, 1941, which original application is directed to the construction of the door jamb or the guides for permitting release thereof in case the door is jammed on the inside.

Other objects and certain advantages will be more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the back end of a truck in which a roll-up door embodying the present invention has been installed.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the inside of the door showing the hinge and roller arrangement.

Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 showing the door partially rolled up.

Generally, the roll-up door embodying the present invention comprises a number of reinforced panels which are hinged together and provided with rollers so that the door can be rolled up overhead on a guide track. The particular door shown in the drawings comprises six panels. The

panels are substantially identical. Each one comprises (Figures 4 and 5) a pair of vertical end channels Ill-l0 and a corrugated body portion I I. The corrugations may be square as shown in Figure 4. Preferably, the panels are formed from sheet metal by stamping. A distinct advantage to the structure as disclosed here is that it lends itself to spot welding, which is preferred because of its strength and because it permits rapid assembly.

The upper edge of each panel is bent down and reversely bent to constitute a lip l2 of double thickness and, therefore, a strengthened channel. At the lower edge of the panel, a flange I3 is turned outwardly at right angles to the body of the panel. The flange I3 is carried outwardly beyond the line of the panel, and at the outer edge of the flange a lip it of double thickness is formed and bent downwardly therefrom to constitute a Weatherstrip when the sections are assembled. It can be seen from Figure 2 that when the panels are assembled, one above the other, the lip 14 extends down on the outside to overlap the next lower panel to provide a rain-proof cover for the crack between the hinged panel sections.

The flanges of the vertical end channels ill-i0 extend toward the center of the door and the edges of the door are enclosed thereby, the lower flange i3 being the only part of the panel which extends outwardly beyond the channels.

At the inside face of the panels, the channels or grooves l5 which would normally exist at the corrugations are covered by plates IS. The plates are countersunk into the panel and welded into seats provided by shoulders "-41 formed on both sides of each corrugation. Each plate is installed-so that its inside face is in the same plane as the inside face of the panel portions between the corrugations. only provides a substantially flush, flat surface for the inside of the door, but constitutes a very strong structure capable of withstanding distortion as the body sways when the vehicle is driven around sharp bends in the road.

The preceding description sets forth an embodiment of the invention to which this application is directed. However, in order to make clear the guide arrangement and mounting for the door, a description of this guide structure follows. As stated previously, the guide structure is disclosed and claimed in the original application of which this case is divisional.

The panels are hinged together at the joints between the panels; a pair of hinges being utilized, one on each side, on the inner face of the This construction not a door at each joint between the sections. The hinges are indicated at IS. The upper leaf 20 of the hinge may be riveted, welded, or bolted to the upper panel and the lower leaf 2| similarly fastened to the lower panel. Referring to Figure 3, a hollow hinge pin 24 is utilized. The hollow hinge pin constitutes the journal for an axle 22 for the guide roller 23. The axle 22 extends beyond the side of the door and is free to slide axially in the hollow pin 24 to allow for variations in the track in which it runs.

Referring again to Figure 3, the side wall of the vehicle is indicated generally at 26, the rear side post at 21, the outer door jamb section at 28, and the inner jamb section at 29. The inner jamb section 29 consists of a channel portion 30 and a shield portion 3|. The outer flange of the channel 30, indicated at 32, is fixed to the side wall 25 with the channel extending rearwardly to abut the side post 21. The shield portion 3| is an inward angular extension of the other flange, indicated at 33, of the channel 30. The shield 3! extends toward the center of the door and is bent rearwardly and then outwardly to form a channel 34 for enclosing the rollers and hinges.

The track 35, in which the guide rollers run, is split. The inner part is rolled over at its forward end to constitute a groove 36. -The outer part is constituted by a flange 31 bent inwardly from the forward end of the outer side wall of the outer jamb section 28. The flange 31 therefore keeps the rollers in the groove.

The track is split only on the vertical run. At the top of the track where it curves and turns to run along the top of the truck, a conventional one-piece track may be utilized. Also, the shield 29 may be discontinued at the upper end of the track because at thi point, indicated at 38 in Figure 2, there is no danger of packages jamming the hinges.

A conventional counterweight comprising a pair of coil spring-urged reels may be installed above the door opening in the recess provided by the turn in the tracks. One of the reels is indicated at 39 and is mounted on brackets 40 which are fastened to the back of the truck body above the door-opening. The cables from the two reels extend downwardly from the reels inside of the hollow jamb sections 28 and are fastened to the bottom of the door on eyebolts or studs indicated at 4|, Figure 3.

The outer jamb section 28 comprises a channel having one side wall 42 abutting the post 21 and having the other side wall 28 extending forwardly and turned inwardly for strength to enclose the side edge of the door as at 43. The jamb sections thus provide slots in which the door moves. The jamb section 28 is pivotally journalled at its upper end on a hinge 44 which is fastened to the cross piece at the top of the door opening. Each jamb section 28 is normally held in place relative to the post 21 by a keeper pin 45. The keeper pin extends through appropriate apertures in the lower ends of the two walls or flanges of the jamb sections and through apertures in the side post 21 and is held therein by a nut or by a cotter key 46. If for any reason the door becomes caught and cannot be rolled up, the keeper pins 45 of both outer jamb sections can be removed and the jamb sections swung upwardly I with the whole door, thus permitting clearance of the door from the load and access to the interior of the vehicle. A keeper pin similar to the pin 45 may be installed at the upper end of each jamb in place of the hinge 44. In this way, the whole jamb may be removed.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. A roll-up type door, comprising a plurality of panels disposed one above the other and hinged together, each of said panels being made of corrugated sheet metal, plates covering the channels on the inner face of the panels constituted by the corrugations, said plates being countersunk and fixed in place flush with the inner face of the door.

2. A roll-up door for the back of package-carrying vehicles, said door made up of transverse hinged together, plates set into the inner face of each section over the indentations provided by the corrugations to provide a relatively flush surface for the interior of the door, guide rollers for the door disposed at the sides thereof; and shields for the rollers and hinges.

3. A roll-up type door for the back of packagecarrying vehicles, said door being made up of transverse sections of corrugated sheet metal hinged together, plates set into the inner face of each section over the panels formed by the corrugations to provide a flat inner surface for the interior of the door, and each of said sections having a depending lip at its face opposite to the face including the plates, each lip adapted to section.

JAMES J. BLACK.

sections of corrugated sheet metal, said sections 

